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Story updated on November 9, 2017

At a time of unprecedented concern about the security of financial systems, the Global Finance annual ranking of the World’s Safest Banks provides a guide that is both consistent and transparent.

We use long-term foreign currency deposit ratings (or an equivalent, if a deposit rating is not available) from all three of the major international credit rating agencies. These ratings are publicly available, as are any changes made to them. In addition, we factor in asset size, as that has historically correlated with stability. This is our 26th consecutive year publishing this analysis, giving us a long-term perspective on bank safety.

Of course, the reputation of the rating agencies has suffered as a result of the global financial crisis of 2008, when it became clear the agencies had awarded exceptionally high ratings on banks that later had to be rescued by their governments or sold to healthier rivals. But much has changed over the past 10 years, in terms of both the strength of the rating agencies’ methodologies and the transparency with which they go about their work.

To mitigate the danger that one agency might have an overly optimistic or pessimistic view on a bank, we make it a criterion for inclusion in our Global and Regional lists that banks hold ratings from at least two of the threeagencies. For example, following the halving of oil prices in 2014, S&P has been the most bearish on Saudi Arabia, downgrading many banks by three notches. In contrast, Moody’s has been more sanguine, usually downgrading by only one notch.

Global Top 50

Rank

Group Name

Country

Ratings

Total Score

Assets

$ mn

Statement

Date

Fitch

Moody’s

S&P

1

KfW

Germany

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

534,429

12/31/16

2

Zürcher Kantonalbank

Switzerland

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

155,222

12/31/16

3

Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank

Germany

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

100,185

12/31/16

4

L-Bank

Germany

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

79,010

12/31/16

5

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten

Netherlands

AA+

Aaa

AAA

29

162,327

12/31/16

6

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank

Netherlands

N/R

Aaa

AAA

29

109,063

6/30/16

7

NRW.BANK

Germany

AAA

Aa1

AA-

26

148,105

12/31/16

8

Banque et Caisse d’Épargne de l’État

Luxembourg

N/R

Aa2

AA+

24.5

50,058

6/30/16

9

Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations

France

AA

Aa2

AA

24

175,428

12/31/16

10

DZ Bank

Germany

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

536,995

12/31/16

11

DBS

Singapore

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

332,967

12/31/16

12

Svenska Handelsbanken

Sweden

AA

Aa2

AA-

23

289,949

12/31/16

13

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp

Singapore

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

283,402

12/31/16

14

United Overseas Bank

Singapore

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

235,102

12/31/16

15

Korea Development Bank

South Korea

AA-

Aa2

AA

23

225,766

12/31/16

16

Export-Import Bank of Korea

South Korea

AA-

Aa2

AA

23

74,820

12/31/16

17

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Switzerland

N/R

Aa2

AA

23

45,932

6/30/16

18

Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank

Germany

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

40,661

12/31/16

19

TD Bank

Canada

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

878,137

10/31/16

20

Industrial Bank of Korea

South Korea

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

212,537

12/31/16

21

SFIL (formerly Société de financement local)

France

AA-

Aa3

AA

22

83,708

6/30/16

22

Pictet & Cie

Switzerland

AA-

Aa2

N/R

21.5

34,092

12/31/16

23

Royal Bank of Canada

Canada

AA

A1

AA-

21

880,592

10/31/16

24

Rabobank

Netherlands

AA-

Aa2

A+

21

698,422

12/31/16

25

ANZ Group

Australia

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

698,054

9/30/16

26

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Australia

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

692,914

6/30/16

27

Nordea

Sweden

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

648,950

12/31/16

28

Westpac

Australia

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

640,319

9/30/16

29

National Australia Bank

Australia

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

593,333

9/30/16

30

Swedbank

Sweden

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

237,713

12/31/16

31

First Abu Dhabi Bank

UAE

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

185,799

12/31/16

32

Hang Seng Bank

Hong Kong

A+

Aa2

AA-

21

177,617

12/31/16

33

Agribank

United States

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

102,563

12/31/16

34

Fédération des Caisses Desjardins

Canada

AA-

Aa2

A+

21

100,289

12/31/16

35

Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (Sparkassen)

Germany

A+

Aa2

N/R

20

1,246,015

12/31/16

36

U.S. Bancorp

United States

AA

A1

A+

20

445,964

12/31/16

37

SEB

Sweden

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

289,184

12/31/16

38

DNB

Norway

N/R

Aa2

A+

20

281,136

9/30/16

39

HSBC France

France

AA-

A1

AA-

20

178,584

12/31/16

40

CoBank

United States

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

126,131

12/31/16

41

National Bank of Kuwait

Kuwait

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

79,073

12/31/16

42

OP Corporate Bank

Finland

N/R

Aa3

AA-

20

65,256

9/30/16

43

AgFirst

United States

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

32,058

12/31/16

44

LGT Bank

Liechtenstein

N/R

Aa2

A+

20

29,079

12/31/16

45

Farm Credit Bank of Texas

United States

AA-

Aa3

N/R

20

21,222

12/31/16

46

Bank für Sozialwirtschaft

Germany

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

8,982

12/31/16

47

China Development Bank Corporation

China

A+

A1

AA-

19

1,943,930

12/31/16

48

Scotiabank

Canada

AA-

A1

A+

19

668,706

10/31/16

49

Agricultural Development Bank of China

China

A+

A1

AA-

19

644,401

12/31/16

50

Bank of Montreal

Canada

AA-

A1

A+

19

513,269

10/31/16

Fitch Ratings /
Standard & Poor's

Moody's

AAA

Aaa

AA+

Aa1

AA

Aa2

AA-

Aa3

A+

A1

A

A2

A-

A3

The rankings that we publish are valid as of a specific date. This year it was July 31. Unavoidably, there is a gap between the day on which we finalize our rankings and the day when they are published in the magazine (although we can post them on our website more quickly). And of course, ratings can change during that time.

METHODOLOGY

BEHIND THE RANKINGS

Our ratings apply to the world’s largest 500 banks by asset size. We calculate the rankings based on the long-term foreign currency ratings issued by Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service. Where possible, ratings on holding companies rather than operating companies were used, and banks that are wholly owned by other banks were omitted. Within each rank set, banks are organized according to asset size based on data for the most recent annual reporting period provided by Fitch Solutions and Moody’s. Ratings are reproduced with permission from the three rating agencies, with all rights reserved. A rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security, and it does not comment on market price or suitability for a particular investor. All ratings in the tables were valid as of July 31, 2017.

This year, S&P downgraded the People’s Republic of China by one notch to A+ on September 21. On the same day, several of the large Chinese banks were also downgraded by one notch. China Development Bank Corporation (47th) and Agricultural Development Bank of China (49th) would not have been included in the Global Top 50 Safest Banks if that downgrade had occurred before July 31.

Along with Export-Import Bank of China, both those Chinese banks are among the top 10 Safest Emerging-Market Banks. After the downgrade, all three would have retained very high positions on that list.

Another highly rated casualty has been Qatar. On August 28, Fitch downgraded the Government of Qatar by one notch, to AA-. Downgrades of some of the banks followed.

Qatar National Bank had already lost its chance for inclusion in the Global Top 50 Safest following a downgrade by S&P in June, but it remains highly placed in the Emerging-Markets list and would have kept its place in the Safest Commercial Bank ranking even after the Fitch downgrade in August.

In practice, the time lag between closing the rankings and publication has little impact on the overall picture. State-sponsored European banks lead the Global rankings, with South Koreans making a strong showing and Australian, Canadian and Singaporean banks alongside a variety of US banks making the top 50. Banks from the GCC dominate the Emerging-Markets list, accompanied by banks from a select group of Asian countries, such as South Korea, China and Taiwan. European banks are the largest contingent in the Commercial Banks list, although Canadian, Australian, Singaporean and US banks also feature strongly.

From Latin America, only Chilean banks have ratings high enough to make the Global, Emerging Markets or Commercial lists, but even the largest Chilean bank isn’t large enough to make the asset cut-off for the Global list. Similarly, from Eastern Europe, only Czech Republic banks are even contenders.

That leaves many of the world’s biggest banking systems struggling for visibility. Russian, Turkish, Brazilian, Indian and Indonesian banks, even when they have the assets to vie with big players, still fall far short of the ratings needed to compete among the world’s strongest. And for those that can’t compete in the global leagues, our Country-by-Country list gives an indication of how the banks’ security in 106 different countries compares relative to their domestic peers.

First published on September 22, 2017

World's Safest Banks 2017 Rankings Released

Global Finance has announced the 26th annual Safest Bank Awards 2017. The rankings include the world’s 50 safest banks for 2017. The winning banks were selected from among the 500 largest banks worldwide by their asset size. The rankings were based on a through evaluation of long-term foreign currency ratings from global rating agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.

In addition to the safest banks in the world, the full survey also released rankings like that for world's safest banks by country, world’s 50 safest commercial banks, 50 safest banks in emerging markets, safest Islamic financial institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and safest banks by region (Africa, Asia, Australasia, Central & Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East, Latin America and North America ). A full list of the press releases for the awards with limited information can be found in the table below.

Andrew Cunnigham, founder and director of UK based Darien Analytics and consultant to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has been preparing the ranking for the magazine since 2011. He informed that the banks this year had to have assets of $14 bn or more to be considered eligible for being ranked among the world's top safest 50 banks. They also needed to get three A1 ratings from the rating agencies mentioned above. Cunnigham mentioned that some of the highlights for this year's list included downgrades for "some of the Canadian, Australian and big Chinese banks where as upgrates were more of a bank by bank story." The full rankings and their details will be released in the November issue of the Global Finance magazine. The safest banks will be presented awards at a special ceremony to be held during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC on October 14 at the National Press Club.

Key Highlights

Some of the key highlights from this year's ranking for world's 50 safest banks included the domination of the list by European banks. They took all top 10 positions. German banks were especially strong taking five spots on the top 10 list. Also, Germany’s KfW came in at the top spot for the sixth year in a row.

Asian banks too put in a strong showing in the top 20 led by Singapore’s DBS Bank at #11. Singapore's OCBC and United Overseas Bank came in at number 13 and 14 respectively. Korea's Korea Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Korea took positions 15 and 16 repsectively. In the Middle East, First Abu Dhabi Bank became the top ranking bank in the UAE after National Bank of Abu Dhabi’ merged with First Gulf Bank. First Abu Dhabi had assets of $186 billion at the end of March 2017.

Among the new entries to the safest banks list this year include AgFirst and Farm Credit Bank of Texas at #43 and #45, LGT Bank from Liechtenstein at #44 and Bank für Sozialwirtschaft from Germany at #4.

The video below presents a quick look at the methodology used and some other key highlights from this year's rankings.